Urgel grignon



No. 6l9,405. Patented Feb. l4, I899. U. GRIGNON.

HARNESS HANGER.

(Application filed Apr. 8, 1898.;

(No Model.)

Witnesses:

URGEL GRIGNON, OF OTTAlVA, CANADA.

HARNESS-HANGER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 619,405, dated February 14, 1899.

Application filed April 8, 1898. Serial No. 676,897. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, URGEL GRIGNON, fireman, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Ottawa, in the county of Carleton, in the Province of Ontario, Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Harness-Hangers; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

My invention relates to hangers on which the harness is suspended ready to be dropped when the horse is underneath, and is especially designed for use in fire-stations and like places where sudden calls are liable to occur, thus requiring quick harnessing.

The object of my invention is to provide a hanger that will when released remain hanging and will automatically resume a horizontal position and be clear of and above the drivers head, so as to be ready when the horses return to the station to replace the harness on the hanger without any trouble, and also to simplify the parts.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my said invention and in which similar characters indicate like and similar parts throughout the difierent views, Figure 1 is a side view of the hanger in its normal position. Fig. 2 is a top view of the rear portion of the hanger, which holds the breeching. Fig. 3 is a section on line 3 3 of Fig. 2, enlarged, showing the trip mechanism. Fig. 4 is a detail of the hinge-joint of the breeching-holder. Fig. 5 is a side view showing the position the hanger assumes just after the trip has been operated. Fig. 6 is the position it assumes a moment later.

Referring to the drawings, 10 is a tube of a suitable length-say three feetand is provided at one end with two arms 11 11. These arms form a U-shaped frame, the short ends 12 of which are bent parallel with the tube 10. These two arms are made in one piece and are rigidly connected to the end of the tube or bar 10. A bail 13 of the same shape, but fitting inside the U-shaped frame 11 11, is pivoted at 14 to the short arms 12. The arms 15, through which the pivots pass, are longer than the arms 12 and terminate in hooks 16. These hooks are composed of two fingers, the lower one, 17, in its normal position being curved slightly upward at the end and a short upper finger 18. Stops 19 are provided to prevent the bail turning too far, and consist of plates 20, reinforcing the portions 12and secured thereto, the stops 19 being portions of the said plates bent under the arms. The bail 13 is made heavier in its central portion at 21, the object of which will be hereinafter pointed out. A latch 22 engages the bail 13 by entering a recess 23 formed. therein, a stop 23 being formed at the lower edge of the frame 11 11, and on this the bail rests, held by the latch. The latch consists of a spring-bolt 22, having its upper projecting end beveled off, a spring 24: being coiled around the shank of the bolt, which spring tends to press out the beveled end. The shank ofthe bolt 22 extends some distance into the bar or tube 10, where it is connected to the lower end of a trip. This trip is pivoted in a collar 25, secured on the bar 10, and consists of an arm 26, to which the shank of the bolt 22 is pivoted inside the hollow bar and extends upwardly above the pivotalpoint 27, where it terminates in a hook 28, this hook being similar to the hooks 16, except that it is nearly vertical in its normal position. An aperture 29 is made in the upper part of the tube 10 for the passage of the arm 26. Another hook 30 is secured in the other end of the tube 10.- This hook is similar to thehooks 16 in shape and is provided with a shank 31, which slides into the end of the tube 10 and is held in any desired position by a set-screw 32. An adjustable balance-Weight 33 slides on the tube near the end carrying the hook 30, a set-screw 34. holding it in any position required to balance the device and maintain it at all times in a perfectly horizontal position. An arm 35, having at its lower end an eye 36, through which passes the tube 10, and an eye 37 at its upper end, by means of which it is secured to the rope or chain by which it is suspended from the ceiling, and a set-screw 38 holds this arm in position on the tube.

The operation of the device is as follows: The harness is suspended-on the hooks of the hanger, the breeching on hooks 16 16, the collar on hook 30, and the lines or reins connected to the vertical hook 28. When an alarm is given, the driver on taking his seat pulls toward himself the reins held by hook 28, pulling back with them the said hook, thereby releasing the latch, and thus allowing the bail to raise and the hooks 16 16 to tip down, thus lowering the arms carrying the breeching and allowing it to slip off the hooks onto the horse, this position being shown in Fig. 5. These hooks being thus released of the weight of the breeching, the bar will then be tipped forward by the weight of the collar on the hook 30, aided in this action by the weight 33, and the collar will fall onto the horses neck and the heavy central portion of the bail 13 will also immediately cause it to fall back in its place, where it will be locked by the latch and made to resume its normal position, as shown in Fig. 6. It will thus be seen that immediately aft-er the collar is off its hook the whole device when raised will assume a horizontal position, the heavy rear portion thereof being counterbalanced by the weight 33, as shown in Fig. 1.

It is obvious that the hanger in automatically assuming a horizontal position immediately after being released of the harness is of considerable advantage, inasmuch as it will present no obstacle whatever to the driver as he drives past under it, and, moreover, also renders the hanger to be always ready for immediate use in rehanging the harness when the horse is to be unharnessed, which is also of agreat advantage, more especially so in winter-time, when the hands of the driver have been rendered numb by cold and it is almost impossible to manipulate any complicated gearing.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a harness-hanger consisting of a suspended bar or tube, an adjustable collar-hook at one end of the said bar, a U-shaped frame secured to the other end of the said bar, a bail pivoted in the said frame, the ends of said bail projecting past the pivoted point, and carrying on said ends hooks for the breeching, a spring-latch engaging the said bail in the center, a trip pivoted to the said bar, a hook formed on the upper end of the said trip, the lower arm of the said trip being pivoted to the inner end of the said latch, stops on the ends of the said U-shaped frame to limit the upward movement of the said bail, a stop in the center of the said frame, to limit the downward movement of the said bail, an adjustable balance-weight, near the collar-hook, and an adjustable arm by which the said hanger is suspended, substantially as set forth and described.

2. In a harness-hanger, the combination with a tube or bar havinga collar-hook at one end and a U-shaped frame secured to the other end, of a bail pivoted in the said frame, the ends of said bail projecting past the pivotal point, and carrying hooks on said ends, the central portion of the said bail being made heavy to counterbalance the said hooks, a latch engaging the said hail, the said latch operated by a trip, substantially as set forth and described.

3. In a harness-hanger, the combination with the bail13 pivoted in the U -shaped frame 11, 11, secured to the tube 10, of the stops 19 secured to the said frame, and the stop 23, limiting the movement of the said bail, a spring-latch 22 engaging the said bail, a trip pivoted to the said tube 10, the lower arm 26 of said trip to which the shank of the said latch is pivoted, and a hook 28 formed on the upper portion of the said trip, substantially as set forth,

4. In a harness-hanger, the combination with a U-shaped frame secured to a horizontal tube, of a bail pivoted in the arms of the said frame, the central portion of said bail being made heavier than the rest, and having the ends of said bail provided with hooks, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

URGEL GRIGNON.

In presence of JAMES OCoNNoR, WILLIAM McKAY. 

